Side-loading robotic arm

A side-loading robotic arm, comprising:

• a pair of lateral rails disposed in parallel and attached forward of a front wall of a container;
• a carriage body reciprocatingly disposed on the pair of lateral rails;
• a tipping arm comprising a lateral portion and an upright portion oriented generally perpendicular to each other, wherein the lateral portion is pivotingly attached to a first end of the carriage body and the tipping arm is configured to pivot relative to the first end of the carriage body between a loading position and an amptying position;
• a tipping piston cylinder attached at one end to the lateral portion of the tipping arm and at an opposite end to the carriage body for pivoting the tipping arm between the loading position and the emptying position;
• a lifting arm pivotingly attached to the upright portion of the tipping arm distal from the carriage body and configured to swing between a raised position where the lifting arm is proximate to the lateral portion and a lowered position where the lifting arm is distal from the lateral portion;
• a lifting piston cylinder attached at one end to the lifting arm and at an opposite end to the tipping arm for swinging the lifting arm between the raised position and the lowered position;
• a pair of gripper arms pivotingly attached to the lifting arm distal from the tipping arm;
• and
• means for stabilizing to stabilize a horizontal orientation of the pair of gripper arms during pivoting of the lifting arm.